


Sideline Stories: It's Not Just a Ball (Trini)

by UnicornAffair



Series: Wild Pitch [4]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, F/F, Gen, SPD Cameos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 12:57:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14749296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: It was never about the game, to Trini the magic was the friends she made that summer. Tommy, Jason, Billy, Zack...Kimberly. No one ever tells you to appreciate the moments you really have because one day you move away and have to leave the ones you love the most behind.The one where a young Trini reflects on her memories with old friends.





	Sideline Stories: It's Not Just a Ball (Trini)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Adma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adma/gifts).



> Hi everyone! So I'm dedicating this piece to someone very special who had taken time out of their own lives to create something for me and this universe. It really touched my heart and I didn't think a simple thank you was enough to show how much doing that meant to me. <3 <3 <3 
> 
> It can be found here http://sherchloex.tumblr.com/post/173159256863/hi-unicornaffair-i-know-that-im-kinda-late 
> 
> Check it out! And her blog, she's super talented!

_Sandlot Forever-Tommy_

Gabriel had a business meeting out in Harwood County, so June took it upon herself to take her ten year old daughter and four year old sons to a place called Fun’N’Stuff. There was an area for kids under five to play on a little playground, but Trini wanted _nothing_ to do with that. Ah there were bumper cars, mini golf, go-karts, _laser_ tag, a roller rink, an arcade, basketball...none of this kiddie jungle gym. Trini’s eyes went _wide_ when she spotted that there was a batting cage. Oh ho _heck yes._

“Mom! Moooooom” A young Trini tugged on June’s arm, desperately trying to pull her attention away from her two terror twins.

 _“What?”_ June snapped, her expression softened immediately afterward, “What is it Trini?” She repeated, Trini released her arm and eased the tension. “Are you hungry?”

Trini shook her head, even though a hot dog or some nachos sounded like a fantastically great idea, “I wanna go to the batting cages” She pointed off in the distance, June would be able to see her from here. To Trini she thought that would be fine, _besides_ she would ride her bike to the sandlot almost every other day. What was so different about going by herself here? “Can I?”

June’s lips curled into her mouth, there were too many people...too many _strangers_ here for Mrs. Gomez to feel comfortable letting Trini stray away too far while she also had to watch the twins. “Maybe in a bit”

Maybe. That answer was never good enough, not when Trini wanted to do it _now._ A maybe was usually a nice way to eventually say _no._ “But I’m bored” She could only enjoy a slide or some monkey bars for so long. Playgrounds were fun for kids her own age...and all the kids that were _her_ age was out having fun...and stuff.

Trini needed a play, a way to get her mother to say yes to her. She looked to the batting cages and her eyes locked in on a little boy in green. _Tommy Oliver._ Yes! One of her sandlot gang friends was _here._ This was perfect. “Mom my friend Tommy is over there” She pointed to the young boy, it was hard to miss his white and gold bat. “Mr. Oliver is over there too. I won’t be by myself”

June thought of her options, one whiny child here, or two whiny children there. This _would_ solve the mother’s issue. “Okay, but _make sure_ he knows that _I’m_ over here”

“Okaysurewhateverbye!” Trini was out of there _so_ fast. She practically ran into some dumb kid on her beeline to the batting cages. This place offered a lot of cool things, but mini golf or laser tag kinda sucks for a kid by themselves. Batting cages were _perfect._ There weren’t any close in Angel Grove, so Harwood County was the next best bet.

Tommy looked pretty tired, he must’ve been batting for some time. His father was leaning up against the fence and observing, Trini was about to grab Thomas’ attention but a stern expression and a missed swing by Tommy made him shout, “You’re better than that! C’mon. Eye on the ball! We didn’t drive up _an hour_ just for you to slack off now.”

Thomas walked past Trini to speak with one of the employees, it gave Tommy a chance to breathe. He noticed Trini watching him so he sent over a small smile, “Hey Trini” Tommy tried to show that he was tough, but the kid was out of breath. He pointed to the bench next to her, “Can you hand me my water? It’s really hot out”

Trini nodded her head, quickly grabbing the bottle and shoving it through the weave of the fence. “Are you okay?” She knew his dad could be tough, but this felt a little extreme.

Tommy didn’t answer he was too busy chugging water as fast as he could, with the rest of his beverage he took his helmet off so he could pour the cool liquid over his head. Anything to to feel some relief. “There’s five dollars in my bag if you wanted to get some practice in”

“I have my own money” A pause, “But thanks” He looked like he was having a moment so she stepped in line to set herself up with one of the machines. 

Thomas pointed to Tommy’s machine, “I need you to speed up the pitches.”

“Sir, I can’t do that….he’s not old enough for-”

Thomas took a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and swiped in smoothly for a handshake, “You’re going to speed up those pitches.” The teenager just scored twenty bucks, so he was going to do the guy a solid and make the balls come at Tommy faster.

When Thomas stepped away to return to personally coaching his son, Trini handed her mom’s five dollars. The teenage employee guided her over to to grab a helmet and a bat that would be comfortable for a girl her size. By the time she returned Tommy was now facing speedier balls that he continued to chip off and not make solid contact.

As Trini entered the cage she could hear Thomas berating his son, commenting _again._ “You have to be ahead of the game, you can’t be the best if you don’t _push_ yourself. Swing _earlier.”_

It was hard for Trini to focus on her own game. She felt the pressure that _she_ needed to do well, even when she wasn’t being watched. Hitting off a machine was much different then hitting off of Kimberly’s windmill pitch, or Jason’s curve ball. These balls weren’t meant to trick, each pitch would be considered _perfect_ right down the middle to build up a players swing. A clang by Tommy followed by a clang from Trini.

When Tommy was done with his set of ten he exited the batting cage, his dad clamping a hand onto his helmet. “Not bad, take a break, we’ll do a couple more sets before we go home”

“Can I get some ice cream?” Tommy asked, taking off his helmet, his hair a sweaty disarray.

Thomas chuckled, “Whatever you want kid, but remember-”

“Sprinkles are for winners” His son repeated, as if a mantra, said many times before. Thomas Oliver raised a well trained dog.

“That’s my boy” Thomas walked off, allowing his son to take a break.

Tommy smiled sadly, gripping onto the fence so he could watch his friend practice. “You should choke up on the bat” He advised with a tilt of his head. “You’ll get a better hit”

Trini moved her hands up the handle of the bat for the next swing, making contact with the ball stung, it felt foreign but it got results. The ball soared over the machine and into the protective netting. “...Your dad’s kinda a jerk…” Trini commented, missing her next swing, dang it.

The ten year old laughed, “He’s just looking out for me” Tommy couldn’t stand anymore so he went to sit on the bench, taking the opportunity to bend his knees in a more comfortable position. “When I grow up, I’m going to be in the pros” He grinned widely, “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to give you an autograph”

“Cool” Trini responded, smirking in his direction, “I can sell it on ebay”

Trini didn’t understand the pain behind a fake smile from a boy trying to live up to his fathers expectations.

_You’re Cool For a Girl- Jason_

In a rare turn of events, the sandlot gang decided _not_ to play baseball. Some days were rough when a lot of the neighborhood kids were involved in camps. Playing three on three baseball got _old_ pretty quick so Tommy, Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini and Kimberly had set their eyes on the park for an afternoon of fun. They _were_ going to play an awesome game of tag but a group of six on the playground made that difficult. _Eleven year olds._ The worst. This crew did _not_ want to share their turf, their leader, a black kid in red by the name of Jack Landors challenged Jason Scott and his group to a game of capture the flag. Winner gets bragging rights and the losing team has to go to the _other_ less cool jungle gym.

Four boys in Jack, a guy who thought he was tough shit in Sky Tate, Bridge Carson and a smaller kid named Sam. Two girls in Z Delgado and Syd Drew perfectly could match up with the likes of their little ranger gang. The game was simple, each team would hide a “flag”. Jason would hide Jack’s red bandanna while Sky hid Tommy’s green bandanna. Each team would get a section of the playground, and a jail from behind the center line. A player would wind up in “jail” when they crossed the line into enemy territory and a defender tapped them...the only way a player could get out of jail is if a teammate runs and tags the other players to get out.

With Tommy, Kimberly, and Zack in jail...it was looking pretty grim for the ranger gang. “Time out!” Jason called making a t-with his hands.

“There’s no time out in capture the flag!” Sky rested a hand by his mouth to amplify his voice.

“Dude, they’re gonna lose” Jack swatted at Sky’s chest, “Let them have the time out” He nodded his head in Jason’s direction, allowing him the request. It gave both teams a time to strategize.

Jason huddled Billy and Trini around him, the pitcher sighed, looking across to where Tommy, Kimberly and Zack pathetically sat. “I’ll be honest this isn’t looking good” Syd was the _only_ member of the opposing team currently in jail. They were outnumbered, the _only_ advantage the ranger gang had left was that Jack and his crew didn’t _know_ where Jason hid the flag. An all out charge wouldn’t result in anything if they didn’t have a target. “They’ve got some of our best runners” He sighed, “And Zack can only annoy Z for so long with kissy faces”

“Yeah, how is that supposed to be helping us?” Trini frowned, looking over to where Tommy was trying to get Zack to shut up.

“It’s a distraction” Billy nodded, noises always distracted him from his task. “The less they can focus the better”

“What do we do?” Trini asked, she and Billy both looked to Jason. With Tommy not here, well, it was no doubt who was in charge.

Jason nodded his head, “I say we go all in. Billy you’ll go for the ones in jail, I’ll go down the middle...Trini...you’re our play. You’re small, you’re a _girl._ They won’t see this coming from _you._ You know where that flag is, grab it, lay low going down the slide and while _they’re_ trying to find our flag...you come on over” Jason rested his hands on Trini’s shoulders, “It was an honor fighting by your side today.”

“You don’t have to be so dramatic...it’s just a dumb game” Trini frowned, no, against these _older_ kids...she wanted the win. She tutted her head from side to side before just going along with this, “I’ll see you boys on the other side”

“This is it...our final blaze of glory” Jason put his hand in, his attention off to their three stranded teammates. Billy rested his hand a top of Jason’s and once Billy’s hand was in, Trini rested hers on top of his. “Three, two, one”

“Go team?” Their hands went down and up, Billy offered a weak cheer to cover for the team. “Sorry you’re supposed to say what we’re saying on three we count and then do it”

“Well we’re not doing it again” Trini commented, because that would make them look stupid. The three kids lined up, Jason looked to his soldier Billy to his left to his soldier Trini on his right. This was it. Go big or go home.

"Now!" Jason was the first to cross over the line. Due to their strict rules of no guarding super close to the line, Sky and Jack had to wait to make their move. Jason pulled their best players away. Billy was next to cross the line, he made a beeline for the jail where his teammates stood waiting for him. Only problem, he had to get past Z Delgado to do so. The squirmy boy in blue would contort his body to avoid the tap.The boys were doing their job...all it left was Bridge Carson and Trini Gomez staring each other down.

Bridge tried to stare Trini down but the way he shook his shoulders from left to right to try and intimidate had the opposite effect on Trini. He was formulating a plan, if he let Trini by...well...Jack and Sky could take care of it, he could get Syd out of jail and he'd have a free reign to search their side of the zone for the flag and be the hero...it was just a little girl... "You go, I'll go. Deal?"

Idiot. Trini nodded her head, agreeing to his terms. This was his funeral, "Deal"

The two kids passed one another, Bridge went to save Syd from prison while Trini went straight for the green flag. In a move of desperation, Billy stretched his arm out to tap Zack, Kimberly, and Tommy out of their side. Only to sacrifice himself to getting touched by Z, he was facing prison time now. Sky tripped up Jason long enough to tag him out as well...but Jason pulled the two far enough away for Trini to scale the playground and grab Tommy's bandana at the top. "Get her!" Jack yelled, trying to get Z's attention.

Trini had to quickly descend the slide and make a beeline to home base. Bridge hadn't had any luck on their side to find the red bandanna, all she had to do was cross the line. Jack and Sky were out of breath from chasing down one ten year old that they weren't _as_ on their game to chase Trini down. All she had to do was outrun three eleven year olds...no big deal. Trini was tiny, she was able to duck and weave her way out of Z's swipe of the arm to cross the line a victory for the sandlot gang.

Suck it eleven year olds.

Trini didn't have a chance to gloat, she was tackle hugged by Zack upon crossing the line. "You did it Crazy Girl!"

"Give her a chance to breathe" Kimberly shoved at Zack's arm, trying to get him to let go, she couldn't help but smile in Trini's direction, "You were amazing out there"

Jason had his arms stretched out as he slowly walked backwards, he wasn't above bragging, "Sucks to suck. This playground is _ours_ today" Not that the had _any_ energy to actually play after this game. When he crossed over the line, he took off his Los Angeles Dodgers hat and placed it on Trini's head. "I knew I could count on you"

Never underestimate a girl.  


_I’ll Miss You- Billy_

It was Billy and Trini's turn to go into town and pick up snacks for everyone at the sandlot. The rotation was pretty fair and everyone chipped in whatever pocket change they could get for snacks to share. The group just decided it was dumb for _everyone_ to have to go into town just for a couple of bags of chips and some cookies. Billy didn't mind, after getting two back packs worth of snacks he had some of his own left over money to get a bag of plain m &m's for himself and Trini to share on the walking back to their bikes.

When they stepped out of the supermarket, Trini extended her hand for Billy to pour a small batch of chocolates. The young boy's face lit up when he saw one color in particular standing out among the rest, "Ah you got a blue one!"

"So?" Trini was about to pop the entire handful of M&M's into her mouth, but was stopped by Billy's quick protest. "Am I missing something?"

"Blue ones are magic" Billy's eyes glistened with delight, "My daddy said they're used for wishing" He nodded his head, "I've been wishing for a dog, but he said something like that'll take a lotta wishes so..." So it was something his parents told him to procrastinate on getting him what he wanted.

"Oh" Trini's expression softened, she couldn't break his heart and tell them that they were just ordinary chocolate. "Well, here, take mine" She offered her hand up to him, "For your dog"

"It's bad luck to take someone else's wish" Billy held his hand up, shaking his head no, he wasn't going to mess with the blue m&m's powers that be, "It came to you, it's your wish"

"Okay, fine" Trini closed her eyes, taking a second to actually think what she wanted. She had friends, she loved the sandlot, things in her life were pretty perfect...ha except for her mom. "I wish for-"

"No, I can't know what it is"

Trini huffed out a sigh. Fine. _I wish for my mom to stop being annoying._ She popped that m&m piece into her mouth by itself for good measure. Who knew, maybe Billy was right and she was full of crap.

"I hope it comes true" Billy smiled, pouring more chocolates in his hand in hopes of coming across a magic blue one for himself. "Hey, is it okay if we stop at the comic book shop on our way back to the sandlot?"

Trini shrugged, "Sure" She didn't care, besides, who could say no to Billy Cranston?

Trini wished that Billy had spoken up about wanting to go to the comic book shop _before_ they filled their bags to the brim with snacks. They rode their bikes down a couple of streets before coming across one of Billy's other hang out places, the store itself was pretty small. Just one basic looking room with single issue comics lined up against the walls. There was an older guy sitting behind the desk, doing his own thing on his phone and another little boy sitting in the corner reading some _Black Panther_ comic. He nodded in Billy's direction, as if he knew him. This totally wasn't Trini's scene, but Billy absolutely lit up when he saw a new issue of _Ultimate Spider-Man_ was on the shelf.

"Oh man Spider-Man is so cool" He picked it off the shelf and showed Trini the cover. The little girl squinted her eyes, a black suit with red lines...that wasn't the Spider-Man she knew. Billy opened the page to reveal a darker skinned kid behind the mask, "This is Miles, he's my favorite, because he looks like me"

There weren't many _superheroes_ that looked like Billy. Trini could understand, all too well what that was like, she didn't have many fictional characters to look to. "That's cool" She shook her head, "I'll buy you that book if you can find a superhero that looks like _me"_

Billy took a couple of moments scanning through the Marvel section of the store before plucking the title _Avengers Academy_ off of the wall. "White Tiger...the ah, well she's the fifth person to assume the mantle and that part can be a little confusing but...if you want to look at teen Latina heroines of DC there's Lorena Marquez she's the second Aquagirl" His smile cracked dopely, "She's pretty"

"She's fictional" Trini held onto the Avengers Academy book, "...White Tiger sounds pretty cool" Tigers _were_ her favorite animal and...well...she _hated_ water so she saw no appeal to the idea of an Aquaman book.

"You don't have to buy _me_ a book" Billy had an answer to her doubts within five minutes, he didn't feel right making her go through with her challenge. "But, I'll buy you that book there" Before Trini could insist that he _shouldn't_ he already waved her off.

"Hey Billy" The kid in the back with the glasses spoke up, "Did you see there's a new issue of _Green Lantern?_ I'll let you borrow mine"

"That'd be great" Billy walked over to the back of the room to catch up with the other kid, Trini didn't mind. Billy didn't get many opportunities to talk about his nerdy interests. Jason was a good kid and would sit back and _listen_ but he wouldn't be able to engage. Zack and Tommy tended to tune Billy out all together. It gave Trini a chance to flip through the book she had in her hands, a little peek into the kind of things Billy was interested in.

"Noah!" A blonde girl with wavy hair stepped into the comic book store, she was _far_ too pretty to actually belong in this joint. Looked to be about _twelve_. She wore a bold yellow t-shirt, khaki shorts and a neon pink band-aid to cover up a scrape on her knee. "Are you done? Emma and I want to get ice cream"

"Yeah, yeah okay! Sorry Billy, I'll have to catch you around" The boy in blue, Noah, smiled politely at Trini as he passed her, going to pay for his book before following the impatient blonde out.

Billy plucked the _Avengers Academy_ book away from Trini so he could pay for that and his _Ultimate Spider-Man_ book at the same time. He then put the brown paper bag inside his backpack and grinned, "I hope one day Miles and Ava have a crossover...because it'll be like super-us fighting crime together"

Never change Billy, never change.  


_Won’t Be The Same Without You- Zack_

Playing kickball lasted for about a day at the sandlot. _One. Day._ Jason kicked the ball so hard that it landed in foul territory...straight up into a tree. High up into a tree. The first solution the group of ten year olds had was to try throwing up the biggest mitt to try and knock it down. Tommy grabbed Trini’s mitt, as a catcher hers obviously made for the best choice, only for it to get stuck into a different branch.

“Way to go buttmunch!” Trini shoved Tommy’s shoulder, she was _not_ thrilled about this one bit. “Give me yours” She tried to reach for the boy’s glove but with his arm stretching up and far away from her, she wouldn’t able to get it...even if she tried jumping.

“No way! You’re only going to get it stuck up there!” Tommy shook his head, only for the glove to be grabbed by Jason. “Hey!”

 _“I’ll_ get it” Jason threw Tommy’s glove up at the tree, it didn’t hit Trini’s glove...it didn’t hit the ball, what went up went right down on the other side. “Let me try again”

“Oh my god” Kimberly held the bridge of her nose, annoyed with the boys around her as Jason threw up Tommy’s glove _again_ only to bounce off the dodgeball and flop back down. “This is stupid”

“It is” Zack rubbed his hands together, tilting his head back to judge how high the ball and glove actually were. He made the call, he was going to climb up there and get them down himself. Zack jumped up and grabbed onto the lowest branch he could find, starting his ascension, “Don’t worry Trini! I’ll get it!”

“That’s an even _dumber_ idea then Tommy’s!” Trini brought her hand up to her forehead as if rubbing away the future headache that would come, why were boys _so_ stupid? “Zack! Get down!”

“I’m not coming down until I get your glove!” Zack called, moving up the tree, making sure he had a solid grip before pulling himself even higher.

“Chances of this going well are _not_ high” Billy didn’t help Trini’s anxiety one bit with that comment.

“He’s an idiot” Kimberly sighed, glancing over to her best friend’s direction, “Scratch that _your_ idiot”

“Oh _whatever”_ Trini bit back, she put her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice, “You fall and I’m going to personally kick your ass!”

“I’m not going to fall!” Zack sat himself nicely on a strong branch, “Whooooa” He fainted back quickly just to regain stability moments later, laughter escaping his chest, “I’m kidding! I’m _fine!”_ He winked in Trini’s direction which only made Kimberly roll her eyes, Trini sighing deeply. “I’m almost there!”

“C’mon Zack” Jason murmured under his breath, Tommy was busy dusting off his trusty black leather glove. Billy watched on with wide eyes.

Zack first reached up for Trini’s glove, tossing it to the ground so it could safely return to it’s owner. Just a little higher and he could get to the bright red dodgeball. With one arm, Zack clung onto the base of the tree so he could have something sturdy to hold onto, the other reaching out to swat the ball down. Earning cheers from the likes of Jason and Tommy. He did it, the actual idiot boy did it. Trini could breathe easy as he started to come down the tree. She would feel better once he was on the _ground_ with his own two feet.

“Whoa!” One bad step and _snap,_ a branch couldn’t support his weight and Zack’s body started to fall, he thankfully was closer to the bottom of the tree but when his reaction was just to grab onto _anything_ near him to catch his fall he scraped up his hands pretty badly against the bark. Landing on his feet with a wince. “Ow” Well...he didn’t break anything.

“You idiot!” Trini was quick to shove him, mostly upset with him out of worry. The shorter girl took his wrist and her heart sank, he did this boneheaded thing for _her_ and now his hands looked like it lost a fight with an angry cat. “C’mon let me look at it”

“...So….are we not...playing anymore?” Tommy asked, now picking up the ball. Trini walked over to Billy’s emergency med kit that he kept under a bush for safe keeping.

“No we’re not playing anymore” Kimberly responded with a sigh, the four other sandlot kids watched Zack and Trini from afar, arguing how they were going to spend the rest of their day now that kickball was out.

“That was stupid” Trini scolded, getting out some bandages so she could wrap around Zack’s hands, it would do until he got home to properly wash it out. “You shouldn’t have done that”

“I wanted to” Zack frowned, he looked down to his hand, flinching when the tightness of the bandages stung his hand.

“My glove isn’t worth it” Trini glared at him, she was _pissed_ that he got himself hurt over something so dumb.

The boy in a black t-shirt looked down to his feet, bashfully commenting, “But _you_ are”

Was she? What could Zack see in someone like _Trini Gomez_ when _Kimberly Hart_ was standing right over there?

_Best Friends Forever- Kimberly_

Being in a group of mostly boys was fine, it was fun. Trini _loved_ Jason, and Tommy, and Zack and Billy but...there was something about Kimberly. Maybe it was because she was the only _girl_ in the group. Someone that would _get_ things and _be_ on Trini’s wavelength. Kimberly was special. Girls have to stick together right? After a long hot, sticky day at the sandlot, Kimberly invited Trini over to her house for some popsicles. _Only_ Trini. No boys. Kim and Trini both agreed that they could use a break from the testosterone.

The Hart house felt like a palace to a ten year old Trini. Kimberly had a secret key in a rock to get in when her parents were away and had to put in a special code to turn off the security system. 0214. Kimberly’s birthday, Valentines Day. One Trini could never forget. Kimberly guided Trini through her house to grab two red white and blue firecracker popsicles. The two agreed that they’d rather eat out on Kimberly’s porch swing.

“I fought so hard to get these” Kimberly commented with a giggle, “My dad says they’re bad for my teeth”

“Oh but they’re so good for the soul” Trini closed her eyes dramatically, popsicles on a hot day were the _best,_ and who better to share them than with her best friend.

“Totally” The other girl smiled, Trini felt lucky to even be around such an amazingly cool girl. Kimberly Hart single handedly came over to the Sandlot and struck Tommy Oliver out in three pitches. All because she mastered the windmill pitch, kids don’t even learn that until they’re _twelve,_ maybe _thirteen._ It felt like such a privilege to be out here on her porch swing. Trini understood how lucky she was. “Hey, Trini”

“Yeah?” Trini asked, tilting her head, something was on Kimberly’s mind.

“I’m glad you’re my friend” She commented with a small nod, her eyes diverting to their shoes, “I’ve been thinking on how school is going to be in August”

“Ew” Trini frowned, that was months away, “Why would you think about _school?”_ School was awful. Summer break was the _best_ time, she could be with her friends all the time and play games and eat popsicles at Kimberly Hart’s house. At school they would have to sit through classes and only have lunch and recess to look forward to.

“Because _Hart, Gomez_ we’re going to probably be sitting next to each other” Kimberly nodded her head, “We can pass notes, and play games” She laughed, “Have you ever made a cootie catcher?”

Trini had to take the popsicle out of her mouth, her eyebrows furrowing even further. “What? Like kissing boys? I don’t want cooties” Kissing boys sounded _awful_ and Trini didn’t want any part of it.

“No it’s like a fortune teller, it’s a game. Hold on” Kimberly handed Trini the remainder of her popsicle so she could run inside and grab a piece of paper. Trini felt like an idiot sitting there with two frozen treats, Kimberly _better_ hurry or else the blue of the popsicle would become very acquainted with Trini’s hand. Yuck, sticky hands. In order to prevent that from happening there was only one thing she could do…

Sorry Kim. That popsicle was Trini’s now.

When the young pitcher returned outside with a weirdly folded piece of paper, she frowned at the two empty popsicle sticks in Trini’s hand. “You….you ate it?”

“You were taking too long” Trini shrugged, licking whatever remnants that had dribbled down off of her hand. “So what’s that thing?”

“Okay so I have four colors here” Kimberly showed Trini the top of the paper contraption to show that Trini had a choice between red, blue, green and black...the only colored pens Kimberly could grab quickly from Ted’s office. “So pick one”

Trini took a moment to evaluate her options, she couldn’t help but think of a sandlot boy. Jason would always wear red despite wearing a blue Los Angeles Dodgers hat, he didn’t understand that it totally clashed. Green was obviously Tommy, that boy _always_ had a green bandanna on his head. Black, easily, went to Zack and his plain black t-shirts that his mom would buy as a three pack...and Billy… “Blue” Because blue m &m’s would give her a boost of some magic.

“B-L-U-E” Kimberly opened it vertically then horizontally for every other letter. She opened it up to show Trini four numbers, “I want you to pick one of these numbers” 1, 3, 5, 7.

“Uhhh five” Trini was always partial to the number five.

“One, two, three, four, five” Kimberly opened up the cootie catcher again, “Now another number” These were a different set of numbers. 2, 4, 6, 8.

Hm. Choosing _that_ one was a little easier, two and eight were out almost instantly...which left her with two choices. Six, or four. Six was a nice reminder of the sandlot gang, but… “Four” According to Billy’s rule book there was only _one_ creed that stood above everything else. Ranger rule number four. No one gets left behind.

Kimberly opened up the flap of the paper and read it aloud, “You and I will be best friends forever” She smugly grinned, liking the results of a random fortune she had written down. “I hope that comes true”

Trini rolled her eyes, “Are _all_ of the fortunes that _lame?”_ She reached forward to grab the cootie catcher from Kimberly’s hand to unfold her little game so she could read all of Kim’s answers. “Oh ew! I’m not going to marry Jason” Kim started to cackle next to her, “Or become an elephant poop scooper! What!?”

So not all of Kimberly’s fake fortunes were the best, judging by how most of them were _mean_ or had to do with a boy. Trini managed to pick out the _one_ good one. That she and Kimberly would be _best friends_ forever. As much as she hated to think about it, school with a group of friends like the sandlot gang wouldn’t be the _worst._ She liked the idea of passing secret notes to her best friend, ones that only _they_ would know about. They could have sleepovers on the weekends and build a fort. Be partners to do reports with one another, procrastinate until the night before it was due. She was ready to be _best_ friends with Kimberly until they were old wrinkly, playing mahjong with some other old ladies from a senior center or just sitting on a porch eating popsicles because eating solid foods would suck.

There was so many memories she couldn’t _wait_ to make with Kimberly…

_If only she knew what fate had in store for her._

Reefside was no Angel Grove. Trini’s mother insisted that she would make _new_ friends at her new school. Trini didn’t _want_ new friends...not when she had made the best ones at the sandlot that summer. How was _anyone_ going to top that? Who out there was as sweet as Billy? As tough as Tommy? As dumb as Zack? As strong as Jason…..who out there could possibly replace Kimberly? No one. Trini _hated_ her dad’s stupid job for tearing her apart from the best group of people she had ever known. She hated this house. She _hated_ Reefside.  
  
Trini walked around her new room, the walls were stripped clean, the furniture hadn’t moved in yet. Just an empty room to match the sandlot sized hole in her heart. Trini looked to her wrist, she didn’t take the plastic bracelet off, she hated the color pink...but it’s Kimberly’s favorite. A way to think of her best friend even if she was far away. She couldn’t let that go. All she had left of her best friends was a pink bracelet and a ball with signatures on it. Her dad was sure to get her a special case for the thing. It shouldn’t be played with, not that _Trini_ would, but her dumbass brothers would probably try putting it in their mouths and drool all over it.

The young ten year old girl sat down in the corner of the room, cradling the ball in her hands, observing the signatures of friends...wanting to keep the memories of the sandlot alive...it was all she had left of her favorite place in the whole world.

It was all she had left of Kimberly.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> Just some authors notes: I am well aware that Miss America/America Chavez is probably THE most notable Latina superhero teen heroine but unfortunately she made her bigger mainstream debut in 2013 with the second run of Young Avengers. When they're ten its around 2011/12 so it's just shy of her big time in the limelight. White Tiger and Miles Morales' version of Spider-Man do make animated appearances with one another later on...which gives Billy a nice reminder of his friend during the "6 year gap" (hi I'm a comic book dork) 
> 
> This will be the last sideline story, I will be focusing on the mainfic and Chapter 21 going forward. <3 <3 <3


End file.
